Compounding the heavy early-season workload for Utah’s stars is the fact that the Jazz’s bench has been wildly inconsistent from opening night. Second-unit players such as C.J. Miles and Ronnie Price have added energy and helped delivery victory during some outings. But outside of an emotional lift from Elson on Saturday, Utah’s reserves were nearly nonexistent. The bench totaled just seven points on 4-of-21 shooting, marred by a 1-for-13 outing by Miles.

And while role players such as Earl Watson, Gordon Hayward and Kyrylo Fesenko continue to search for a rhythm, and starters such as Bell and Jefferson continue to find their way in a new system, the Jazz continue to move forward, one foot pointed toward the future, one still searching for a foundation.

If you're counting on Price you know you're in trouble. Elson has looked pretty good but how many minutes can you expect from him? He hasn't played any significant minutes in years. Bell knows the system. Does he have much left? Problem starts with the fact that they are starting 3 PF's and have no center.